Not Meant to Be
by FabianH
Summary: Before Dark Ace, before the Cyclonis we know, there was a different pair of master and champion. Benjamin, locked in prison for 15 years has now escaped. And he's had a long time to plan his revenge.
1. Chapter 1

Not Meant to Be

_It was a party, a nice, cute little party to celebrate the birth of some new Sky-brat. What did it matter that he was the only legitimate kid born to a Sky Knight? He was still just a brat, just one more mouth to feed…one more back to watch. And they weren't doing such a great job; passing the gurgling newborn from person to person without checking to see who they were; they were about to get a reality check. I have the honour of bringing them back to terra; I'm going to send them down so hard!_

I pulled at my shirt, adjusting the almost-skin-tight fabric so it didn't look as if I'd been rolling around in a bush for a week, which I almost had been. I scanned the faces of those at the party, making sure none of them had noticed my sudden appearance, and metaphorically dove into the crowd. I didn't know anyone, and those I recognized had always been on the other side of a battlefield; I went straight to the proud parents, avoiding anyone who looked ready to make conversation.

"Hey, how's it going?" I asked, looking up from the brat to watch their eyes.

He, Rowan, smiled at me, shook my hand and laughed, saying that everything was fine: he didn't' suspect anything.

"Can I hold him?" I held out my hands toward the kid, cradled in his mother's arms. She smiled at me and passed the infant, laying his tiny head in the crook of my arm and showing me how to hold him properly. The kid looked up at me, his big green eyes seeming to stare past my disguise; he just stopped giggling and stared, absolutely still, at my face. At least he wasn't crying.

I backed up slowly, away from the parents who still weren't suspecting anything, and back towards the small glen at the side of the house.

"Hey, where are you going?" Rowan asked me.

"Oh, nowhere far," I replied in my best off-hand voice, continuing to back away.

He started to follow me but at his first step I drew my sword, held it toward the baby in my other arm. The stupid thing grabbed the cool metal, trying in weak little pulls to take it from me and play with it, but at least it made my job easier.

"Oh look, no sense of self-preservation," I mocked his parents, "So, my long time adversary, this is why you haven't been to see me lately?"

There was a flash as I deactivated the Chroma crystal, and everything seemed darker as the lights faded from my eyes, especially their faces; shocked expressions now fixed into scowls.

"Benjamin," Rowan acknowledged flatly.

I smiled, shrugged, "Can't say I really like kids but once he grows up…he can start training and eventually take my place as Master Cyclonis' champion. And because he's so young he won't remember you. But you'll remember him won't you? Be kind of hard to fight your own son wouldn't it?"

He _twitched_! Rowan never twitched, he would never take his eyes off the enemy!

That was my warning, before sudden sharp pains stabbed through my wrist as someone yanked the blade out of my hand. I spun, forgetting the baby, letting it fall, attacking the person behind me.

I heard someone shout, then the dull thud of a body hitting the ground; one of the bystanders had dove down to save the brat. This was all peripheral; my focus was on my attacker. I punched at his face, he shoved me. Both blows hit their targets simultaneously, we both stumbled backwards. I tripped over something on the ground, went crashing down and suddenly had Rowan pinning me. He flipped me over onto my stomach, pressed my face into the dirt while he clapped crystal manacles onto my wrists. He pulled me upright by one arm,

"Never threaten my family again," he growled.

I look over my shoulder to see what I'd tripped on; it was the stupid baby, I'd tripped over the idiot who'd jumped in to catch it!

Rowan shoved me forward, pushed me down the road. At least we were already on Atmosia; I wouldn't have to fly with him to the Stockade. Two members of his squadron walked beside us, ready to attack should I try to escape. I didn't bother; I had no where to go and no way to get there now; I had failed my mission, and that was unforgiveable. I'd know the right moment to escape, I always did.

We walked in relative silence, the buzzing of insects in heat of day and the crunching of gravel under our feet were the only intrusions of sound.

As the pointed roof of the Stockade drew closer I looked up, past the trees lining the dirt path, toward the blue sky,

"You know, it's kind of weird having the sky open and blue like this after so long on Cyclonia." I squinted and dropped my gaze back to the road ahead as the sun rose above the leaves, "and it's so bright out. How do you stand it?"

"By going inside," Rowan answered, "which is were you'll be for a very long time, for the rest of your life in fact."

We reached the end of the dirt path, came to the cobbled streets of the Atmosia marketplace right beside the Council Hall. One of Rowan's squadron broke off and went into the building, no doubt to inform them of my capture. I hadn't realized I'd stopped until Rowan pushed me forward again. I went face first onto the rough stones, scraping my cheek raw. Wincing, I pulled my knees under myself and struggled to my feet, spitting gravel out of my mouth. I may have been taken prisoner, but I would not reduce myself to the indignity of needing help from my captors. We walked down a few more streets, avoiding the main throng of people, again in silence. And again I broke it.

"For the rest of my life, huh?" I said as if I'd been doing some serious contemplating on this fact. We neared the steps to the prison, "You know, Rowan, I find that hard to believe."

We stopped, Rowan opened the heavy Stockade door, and I walked in with my chin held high. Cocky.

"What's so hard to believe?" he asked, nodding to the guards. They acknowledged that he belonged and one of them came with us, pulling a ring of keys from his belt. "You'll stay in this one nice room under lock and key and about fifty guards until you rot away."

"Ooh, attacking your brat made you really sour didn't it?"

My laughter was cut short as he punched my face; my head slammed into the bars of one of the occupied cells. Rowan's teammate grabbed his arm as he made to hit me again, shaking his head; I smiled.

"You're _scared_, aren't you? Huh, you are honestly scared. I never would have guessed…well, until now of course." I brought my bound hands up, wiped the blood from under my nose with my sleeve.

Rowan tensed again, clenched his fist. The prison guard stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder,

"Sir, if you don't mind, I'll take it from here."

He growled, glaring at me as I smirked back, but backed down, nodding to the guard.

The man took my arm, forced me down the hall as my long-time adversary watched, his face angry, his stance resigned.

"Oh, Rowan," I called over my shoulder as if I'd just thought of something, "when I get out, I'll come visit you. I'm anxious already to see how your boy grows up. And it won't take that long to escape you know. I'll wait for the right moment." I laughed, long and hard and loud so he could hear me, so he'd get my message.

The guard unlocked an empty cell, turned to me and unlocked my handcuffs, and threw me in. I knew Rowan was still down the hall, he hadn't moved.

"What's his name anyway, I never did catch it?" I called.

I heard footsteps and then Rowan was outside the bars of my cell. His face was twisted with loathing; he looked ready to strangle me, but he just stood there, staring.

"Benjamin, whether I am alive or dead, you'll not harm s _hair_ on my son's head!"

"It rhymes, Rowan, you practicing for your _darling little boy_? I heard babies love rhymes. Actually I lied. I avoid babies whenever I can, I haven't heard anything. But…he seems to have a 'magnetic' personality. He'd move up the Talon ranks quickly, wouldn't you say?"

"Stop it, Benjamin, he'll never be a Talon solider, he'll fight on the right side of this war and he'll win. And you'll stay locked in here, where you belong."

I shrugged. "Let's agree to disagree then, my arch-nemesis. And I guess it's a 'no' on the name thing then?"

He turned and stalked away. I guess he meant it to be impressive but he just looked like a pathetic child, all sour because he didn't like how things were. I decided to taunt him more, "Give me a clue!" I shouted down the hall, "What's it start with? How 'bout a small hint? …the last three letters at least?"

_Fifteen years later_

The door creaked slowly open, the metal hinges squealing as they performed the job they hadn't done in nearly fourteen years. The last time someone had come in here was to tell me the Storm Hawks were dead, Cyclonia had a new champion and there was no point in trying to escape.

I looked up now through my hair to see who'd bothered to visit me; I didn't recognize him, though I knew all of the five guards surrounding him.

"And whom do I have the _honour_ of meeting today?" I asked sarcastically, leaning back against the wall and crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm the Head of the Sky Knight Council, Benjamin. I'm here to discuss the terms of your release."

"Release? Since when?"

"You sound like you'd rather stay in here for the rest of your life sentence."

"I'm coming." I got to my feet, brushing the too-long hair out my face and let one of the guards handcuff me. They surrounded me as we walked, two behind me, one on either side and one beside the Council guy.

One of them heaved open the heavy main doors; sunlight seeped into the building, chasing away the permanent murkiness. I squinted, threw up my bound hands to shield my eyes: I'd been without light for fifteen straight years. At least this time the guards let me have time to adjust, last time had been all push-and-shove. I stumbled down the stairs with the rest of the group and headed toward the Council Hall. Again we seemed to take the back route with the least amount of people. At least the alleys provided some sort of cover from the light.

The guards were all tense, keeping a constant eye on both me and our surroundings. A shadow shifted farther along the way and suddenly we were blocked, both sides, by shadowed men with weapons drawn.

"Cyclonians!" one of the guards shouted, reaching for his energy sword; it was blasted out of his hand and then chaos followed.

"Down!" someone shouted at me, grabbing my arm and pulling me painfully to the ground as shots fired in every direction.

"Get off me!" I grunted, trying to wriggle out from under them.

"Stay down you fool!" I realized it was the old man from the Council. Why had he saved me?

The blasts ceased, the five guards immobilized. Obviously the Talon's objective was to capture me, or the Head of Council, otherwise we'd be dead. Both of us were unhurt.

"Get off me!" I yelled again, shoving upward, lifting the man and rolling out from under him. And I kept rolling until my back was against the alley wall, so I could watch everyone without giving them the opportunity to sneak up behind me.

The old man stood up and dusted himself off calm as anything, which was really unnerving considering we were still surrounded. He nodded to one of the men and they lowered their weapons, turning around to peek out of the alley. Then he reached into a pocket and took out a crystal, deactivating it; there was flash and his appearance changed. White hair became black, lengthened, he grew taller, dull green eyes became red.

"Long time no see Benjamin. Still as ungrateful as ever I see."

"Do I know you?"

"Of course you do. I'm the one who tackled you when you tried to kidnap Rowan's son. I work for Cyclonia now. I'm the one who killed him."

"You killed Rowan's son!"

"I killed _Rowan_!"

"Oh that's right. You're that 'Dark Ace' guy, the one who took my place as Master Cyclonis' champion. So you killed Rowan. Tell me, how did you do it?"

"The details are not important right now. Master Cyclonis wants to see you…the _new_ Master Cyclonis."

I shrugged, and looked pointedly at the handcuffs.

"Not yet," he said, pulling me to my feet.

* * *

><p><em><strong>This is AU obviously, sometime before the episodes needed a chronological order to make sense. So before about...episode 39 or 40.<strong>_

_**Benjamin belongs to me, but that's about it...  
><strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

Cyclonia still looked as warm and welcoming as ever; red lightning flashed under the constant thunder clouds, odd Talons and cruisers drifted around the Terra, guards posted at every available entranceway. The home I hadn't seen in almost sixteen years.

The 'Dark Ace' held me by the crook of my elbow, steering me down passageways I knew better than he did, taking me to his new master. The same Talon soldiers stood around us as they had on Atmosia and on the flight over here, as if they were afraid I'd escape. Or maybe that someone would attack me.

"What's the matter _Ben_, I knew you to be more talkative than this. You haven't said a word since the alley."

"Fifteen years of solitude can do that to you. The only other option is talking to your self, but some people might see that as a little…insane."

He smirked but kept looking ahead, "You'll be back to your old annoying self in no time."

I rolled my eyes and then we were outside the throne room; the Dark Ace yanked me to stop outside the door. I was about to say something but the look he gave me made me reconsider,

"You may not have been here for the last decade and a half but the same rules apply when addressing the Master, or there will be consequences."

"No need to threaten me 'Dark Ace'," you could hear the quotation marks in my voice, "I know how this works."

He glared at me a second longer, then threw open the doors and pulled me in. My hands still cuffed together, he slingshot me around, making me stumble to my knees in front of the dais that used to hold my master's throne. Now a strange, many-armed machine took up the space, a short, hooded person I assumed to be the new Master standing in front of it, facing away from us.

"Master Cyclonis," the Dark Ace said beside me, bowing down and raising his right hand to his heart. He sounded like a desperate puppy wanting praise.

The person on the dais turned around to glare at me, revealing the face of a young girl with violet eyes and coal black hair.

"Urgh, you're the new Master Cyclonis?" I remembered her; my Master's wife had given birth to her a month or two before I was captured.

Her eyes narrowed. I barely managed to keep from crying out as someone, more than likely that 'Dark Ace,' smacked the back of my head,

"Do not speak to her like that!" he growled.

I'd struck a nerve. I smirked, despite my position,

"You know, I hope it's just a healthy master-servant relationship with you two, because, I mean Dark Ace come on, you are about fifteen years older than her."

He choked, glancing quickly up at the girl, frightened and embarrassed. She looked somewhere between laughing and throwing up. A few of the Talons posted around the room sniggered with me. They all shut up pretty quickly though when the girl growled and withdrew a long red crystal from underneath the folds of her cape.

"It seems your time with the Sky Knights has crippled your ability to show respect. I am the Master of Cyclonia and you will obey my every command as you did my father's."

She pointed the crystal at me for emphasis, and let loose a blast of red lightning. The energy engulfed my entire body, sizzling across my skin, burning my every nerve ending.

Through the terrible pain of the red crystal I was vaguely aware of being slammed against the far wall of the throne room. Sheer strength of will kept me from screaming my head off.

I guess my time with the Sky Knights _had_ made me weak; this was far less pain than most of the wounds I'd suffered in my service to my Master.

It can't have been more than a few seconds before the girl let the energy stop, and I fell to the ground in a heap. The fall pushed the air from my lungs, and I had a hard time getting more in. Gasping, I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the aching throbs coming from my wrists; I must have tried to throw my hands out to stop my fall and strained too hard against the handcuffs. I don't quite remember.

"But I didn't take the time to free you just to teach you respect, Benjamin. I have a reason."

"Yeah, kinda figure that," I wheezed at her, glaring.

The Dark Ace raised a hand to the sword on his back, taking a step toward me. The young Cyclonis called him off. I smirked at him, the arrogant servant to a lowly teenager, following orders like a good little pup.

"My father had one last _reward_ for you," the girl continued, unaffected by my haughtiness, "a means for you to complete your last mission."

"Oh?" This was interesting. I knew my Master favoured me, after all I was his champion, but this last act of faith was a surprise. Indeed, the guilt of my failure was the reason I hadn't tried to escape the Stockade, but my Master did not feel the same way it seemed.

"Yes, a chance to redeem yourself, to fix your mistake. He gives you all the resources of Cyclonia and the Terras we control. He also says not to mess up this time."

I chuckled softly to myself. Of course he'd be like that, proud of me and condescending at the same time.

"Then I believe I need these removed," I smirked, holding out my bound wrists toward the Dark Ace, "hmm?"

The girl pretending to be Master of Cyclonia waved a hand absently in my direction, and the manacles sprung open, falling to the ground with a noisy clatter.

"The Dark Ace will show you to your new quarters. I'm afraid your old room has been …reassigned."

The way she said it, it sounded as though a certain favoured Sky Knight-turned-Talon had been awarded the spacious room that had once been mine alone. Said traitor had turned on his heel and was already marching out through the main doors and down the hallway beyond. I hurried after him, rubbing the irritated skin on my wrists, as I jogged to catch up.

Once out of earshot of the throne room, I turned to my successor, raising a mocking eyebrow at the younger, dark haired man.

"That's really the master you serve?" I asked with a chuckle, "She's what, all of ten years old? Quite an imposing figure that: a child Master. Must strike some kinda fear into the hearts of-"

It seemed I'd finally said enough. The new Champion whipped out his sword, lighting the red Striker crystal that powered it. He spun around, swinging the two-pronged weapon at my head. I ducked, savouring the long-absent adrenaline thrilling through my veins as my heart began to pound. As he swung again, meaning to cleave my skull in two, I lashed out at his stomach, punching the breath out of him. His attack was diverted and I kicked out, knocking the so-called Dark Ace into the passage's wall, head first. I wrenched the blade out his limp fingers while he shook his head, trying to clear it, and held it to his throat.

"You thought to best me? I was Cyclonia's champion while you were still running around in that Sky Knight Academy. I served under the greatest Master Cyclonis the Atmos has ever known! You strike at me because I refuse to subject myself to the indignity of serving a baby like the current one? I am loyal to _him_, 'Dark Ace,' and if you don't like it, go cry to your 'Master!' Mine has left me with a mission."

I glanced down at the sword in my hand, finally realizing why it looked so familiar.

"Rowan's sword. I guess I have no choice now but to believe you really did fell the great Lightning Strike. Shame I wasn't there to see it."

I deactivated the blade, removing it from the Dark Ace's neck, and stepped back, allowing him room to move.

"I think I can find my own room," I said, letting him snatch his sword back.

He continued to glare at me, seething, as I continued down the hallway. I knew this passage; it was a dead end and had only two doors leading off from it, one a hidden passageway, and the other a large laboratory. I headed for the lab, thinking back to the mission I had botched. I needed information; the Atmos had not doubt changed while I'd been locked away.

Pushing open the swinging double doors, I froze in shock.

My stuff, _all_ of my stuff was here! My clothes, my chest, my trophies, _everything_!

My Master had not failed me. I walked slowly around the room, reacquainting myself with belongings I had long thought lost. I didn't need to move anything around; this room had been organized in a way that was both the style of my old room and fitted to the size of this new one. I _knew_ where everything would be, and it was there when I checked.

The first thing I did after accepting that fact was to go to the far wall of the room and pluck a short sword from its hook. Then I grabbed a handful of my own hair and sliced the ridiculously long strands with the sharp, cool metal blade. I didn't light it, I didn't want my head to go up in flames, but I circled around my head until my hair was crew-cut short again. It felt weird, having the chill air of the stone room tickle the bare back of my neck, but at least my view was clear now.

Next, I lay down on my bed, not just a bed that they'd put in this room, but _my_ bed, and closed my eyes. I allowed myself only ten minutes of quiet reflection until I'd accepted the fact that I was free, and that I had a second chance. And then I simply rested. Fifteen years of dark monotony and then sudden blinding change was enough to tire anyone out.

I wasn't aware of falling asleep, until a near silent scrape from the outside hallway jerked me awake. Quiet as a breath of air, I slipped off the bed, picked up the sword I'd used to cut my hair, and ghosted to the door.

I must have looked like quite a sight to the Talon, standing in the generic black and grey striped prison jumpsuit, wielding a crystal-less sword, my hair ragged, and thick dark circles under my eyes.

"Sir?" the Talon squeaked, frozen stock still on the threshold.

I sighed, lowering my weapon only an inch, rolling my eyes at the apparent fall from grace the Cyclonian army had taken.

"This is my room," I said, jabbing the sword at the thin, goggled man, "I belong here and you don't so tell me what you want and get out."

The man gulped, and even though the goggles hid them I could sense his eyes searching the room nervously. He shifted uncomfortably to the other foot, clearing his throat.

"M-Master Cyclonis sent me," he stammered, "I've been ordered to update you on the conditions on Cyclonia and the Free Atmos…and to serve your every need."

I straightened out of my battle-ready stance, lowering my weapon all the way. A personal servant? This was a nice surprise to add my list of already nice surprises.

"Your name?" I demanded, walking back to sit on the edge of my bed.

The thin, runt of a man edged farther into the room, "Sir?" he asked again.

"Never mind then, it wasn't like I'd address you personally anyway. Now, you're supposed to update me?"

The Talon soldier assigned by the child-Master to be my personal slave stood nervously in the center of my room, as I paced around him, muttering to myself.

He'd told me that the Storm Hawks squadron still flew, operated by a bunch of teenagers no older than the 'Master.'

"He killed Lightning Strike but he couldn't finish the job. Some Ace he is. Ha, foiled by a bunch of children!"

"They're supposed to be really good, Sir. They've defeated Ravess and Snipe, and even the Master herself."

"Well no wonder: she's barely a teenager herself."

The Talon squeaked, his expression saying I'd just spoken blasphemy.

"You need to get used to that," I scowled at him, "I don't like kids, and I will not bow down to one. I hold no respect for your 'Master.'"

"S-sir," he bobbed his head just slightly.

"I want to see these new 'Storm Hawks,'" I told him, stopping in front of a dusty desk covered in old papers, and turning to face him, "go to the radio room and try to locate the _Condor_, through Cyclonian squadron reports or tapped Sky Knight comm. I'll be in the nearest hangar."

He bowed at the waist and ran from the room at full sprint. At least he was eager.

I turned to the closet in the corner of the room, and pulled open the old doors. All of my clothes hung straight on wire hangers. I wondered if any of it would still fit, and pulled out a thin black jumpsuit with red and Talon green accents, held it up to my neck. I couldn't tell, was never any good with clothes. If it fit, I wore it. So I stripped out of the prison garb and slipped with little difficulty into the uniform.

"Hmm, still fits, that's nice. Now…" I turned to the wall I'd taken the first sword from, the one I'd cut my hair with, and searched with my eyes for my usual blade. It was long, it was a sword, and it worked. That's all I needed to know so that's all I'd bothered to find out, with any of the handful of weapons I could use. There, it was hanging in the center of the wall, the belt and scabbard on a shelf beneath it.

I clipped the belt on and slid the blade into place before turning and striding purposefully from my room. I walked familiar hallways and took equally familiar stairs on a roundabout walk to the hangar; I wanted to see what had changed, if anything. I noticed nothing different structurally but the Talons were all either fat or lazy or both. I wanted to scream at them, to literally whip them into shape, to run and accuse this new Master of letting the great Cyclonian army fall to pieces. Under my Master a squadron of teenagers pretending to be Storm Hawks would not still be standing, but that walk showed me how under this Master they could be.

I grit my teeth and picked my way over to the hangar, disgusted by the state of this Terra. After all these years I'd known things would have changed but I did not except them to be negative changes. My Master-

Wait…that was it! I stopped dead before a standard Talon skimmer, one hand grasping the handlebars, one foot halfway off the ground.

"_-A means to complete your last mission…all the resources of the Terras…to fix your mistake-"_ The child-Master's words echoed in my head as a fleeting, insane thought developed into a brilliant plan. Something my new personal servant had said, about the girl 'Storm Hawk' being a crystal specialist…this could work. This could definitely work.

As I slid fully onto the skimmer's seat my servant ran up, jumping onto the skimmer next to mine, "Sir, the Storm Hawks are docked near Blizzaris."

"Urgh, I hate being cold," I mumbled, then continued louder, "Fine, but this is no longer a scouting mission. This is now search and acquire."  
>"Sir? But what are we 'acquiring?'"<p>

"Take a guess." I revved the bike's engine and took off into the sky before the Talon could respond. I wasn't in the mood for talking now, wasn't in the mood most of the time. Fifteen years' solitude can do that to you. But now I also had something to think about. I needed to perfect this plan, hammer out details, and connect broken ideas.

A way to complete my last mission, a way to fix my mistake, and all it took was one little birdie.


	3. Chapter 3

My plan was simple. We find the _Condor_, cut power and glide close, pump some sleeping gas through the vent.

If only life could be as easy as the planning was.

I'd forgotten how paranoid Merbs were, and how resistant Wallops were to tranquilizers. So when we landed in the ship's hangar we were met by a twitchy lizard and an angry giant that I hadn't planned for.

I drew my sword, and glanced sideways at the weak little man next to me as I slipped into a battle stance. He clutched his crystal tipped spear closer to his chest as if trying to hide behind it, but braced himself against the deck, ready.

The Wallop smashed his fists together, igniting some kind of bronze knuckle device in green energy, and charged.

I lunged out of the way, leaving my Talon open for assault, and spun around to shoot a blast of Striker Crystal power at the berserker's back. He seemed unfazed by the blast but turned to face me instead. I leveled my sword at him, taunting him with smirk.

Green-glowing fists flying, he charged again, and this time I ducked, sliding between his legs. The Wallop seemed to realize his mistake as the Merb, standing directly in his path, screamed and threw his hands over his face, cowering. I think he honestly tried to stop, but his momentum was too much, and the brute just crashed headlong into the wall, slamming the green-skinned humanoid between the metal plates and his rock-hard chest. Use your enemy's strength against him, didn't the phrase go?

The Wallop gasped, "Oops, sorry, Stork! Are y'okay?"

The Merb moaned and crumpled to the floor.

My servant sniggered, and I couldn't help the small twitch at the corner of my mouth.

The Wallop turned to glare at us, an expression I was only too happy to return, and brandished his fists. With a wordless battle cry he charged again.

I plunged a hand into the small case on my belt, digging quickly around until I touched the familiar, jagged edges of one of the most useful crystals I owned. Whipping out the pale blue Paralyzer crystal, I knocked the already-loaded Striker from my sword and inserted the new one, blasting the Wallop a few measly feet from my head. Time seemed to slow around him as the stone took effect, and I had time to duck out of the way and blast again. Finally, the Wallop froze, one foot in the air, hands outstretched for a neck that wasn't there anymore.

I smirked, removing the Paralyzer and bending to pick up the Striker I'd knocked to the ground.

"Nice job, Sir," the Talon smiled.

"You were expecting something less? I'm not your little Dark Ace, remember. Come on, we need to be back on Cyclonia before the sedative wears off."

I slid my sword back into its scabbard and headed for the only door leading to the ship's interior. I didn't hesitate at the less-than-familiar hallway beyond, just peered around every door we came to.

In my time fighting on the battlefield across from Rowan, I'd come to know the _Condor's_ defenses pretty well but that didn't mean I knew this ship like the back of my hand. I guessed at several intersections, deciding to just continue straight forward and branch off only if this path yielded no results.

The Talon behind me was breathing too loud, wet huffs that seemed to be condensing on my neck. I ground my teeth together, resisting the urge to turn around and knock him straight; I kind of needed him awake for this next part of my plan.

We reached the last door in the hallway, the door that opened to the bridge. Someone had better be in there: I was not searching this whole ship for them. Well, I was but…

The red and gold painted door slid upwards as we approached, and I felt a smirk curl up my lips. The blue haired crystal specialist was clutching a thick Floater Crystal in her hand, keeping her arm hovering a few inches above the chest of the redheaded boy she was lying across. They were young, both of them, too young. How could my successor not have destroyed them already? How could my Master's not have?

I approached slowly, warily, crouching by the boy's head quietly on the off chance that the tranquilizer had not worked. I poked him roughly in the face. Other than his head flopping sideways, the child made no move.

I waved my Talon over, motioning to him to grab the girl by the legs.

I hesitated in the few seconds it took for my servant to walk around the children and bend down to our level. There was something about the boy…

I titled my head, scrutinizing the child's blank face. He looked familiar somehow. I put my finger to his eyelid, pushing it up until I saw vivid green, then yanking my arm back like his skin was acid.

This was him! The similarities could not be ignored: this boy was Rowan's son!

I snorted, ignoring the look that got me from the Talon. Of course this boy would take up the Storm Hawks mantle. He wouldn't remember his father, and recreating this team would probably bring him some sense of being close to him. How ridiculous.

I wondered if the 'Dark Ace' had noticed this, that the fourteen year old child he struggled to overcome on the battlefield had been the four year old son of the man he'd betrayed.

Shrugging the mental question away I grasped the girl's bony wrists, lifting her halfway off the boy. The Talon servant started, jumping up so that the girl was held between us, before stepping over the boy's chest and leading the way back toward the hangar. I glanced back at the boy one last time before the door closed behind me, this time glaring at the similarities between himself and his father. At least with this plan, I was getting some form of revenge…it's a pity no one would realize that because what I was getting revenge for never happened.

Lightning Strike had taken my freedom and now I was taking (if my suspicions were correct) his son's girl (why else would they have been close enough to fall on top of one another? Besides, thinking of it that way made my revenge so much sweeter).

I shifted my grip on the girl's wrist, at the same time noting how small it was. My eyes travelled up the length of her arm, then down the rest of her body, ending at her feet clutched in the hands of my servant. I was dumbfounded; this girl was so stick thin she looked like she'd float away on a good wind. And yet from what I've heard, she was a pretty strong fighter. Guess that just goes to show the quality of the Cyclonian army.

The Wallop was still frozen when we emerged back in the hangar, the Merb stirring. I set the girl down gently on the metal-tiled floor, nodding to my Talon to secure her to my skimmer, and went over to the lizard.

I crouched down in front of him, pulling out the Paralyzer Stone and holding it loosely as I waited for him to come to awareness. Yellow eyes blinked open, drifting at first to one side before the humanoid could focus on me. He froze in shock, eyes widening, muscles tensing. A terrified squeak managed to slip past his locked lips. I couldn't help grinning at his expression as I activated the crystal and froze his face in that position, at least until the redheaded boy on the bridge woke up and found him.

"Ready, Sir," the Talon spoke up, saluting as I stood and turned to face him.

I walked wordlessly to my ride, sliding on in front of the unconscious girl slumped across the back seat. I didn't wait for the Talon, but revved the engine and took off down the landing strip, flinging us into open sky before deploying the wings and angling back to Cyclonia.

I only hoped that the information I'd received about this girl was true, about her prowess in crystal science, because if not, I'd just passed up the easiest chance I'd likely get to kidnap Rowan's son. Those Storm Hawks wannabes would be on alert now, and both the Merb and Wallop knew who I was. Or at least knew who I was 'working with;' the colours and symbol of Cyclonia were kind of hard to mistake.

I hoped they had enough sense not to try and rescue the girl when they realized what had happened. Not only would it give the girl hope and push her to try to and resist, it would alert my new 'Master' to what I was doing. And I know for a fact she isn't going to like what I've got planned.


End file.
